Txend

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Levi Strauss & Co is the largest Jeans manufacturer in the world, the company known as the originator of Denim Blue Jeans. I am associated with Levi's since the last 15 years heading their Finance division for MENA and South Asia regions.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Txend, and what were your goals?

We hired Txend (TXD) for developing a solution that could help us get compliant on our regulation with the Federal Authorities on reporting of real-time sales information quickly and without impacting our user experiences.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

With the recent changes in govt regulations, Txend team reached out to us with a proposed solution to comply with the regulation. We made our decision based on their knowledge of the entire ECO system and the Plug-n-play POS agnostic solution they proposed.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

Txend understood the retail dynamics of the country, and knew exactly what was required. Their retail intelligence team proposed a solution for us that was immensely suitable with our infrastructure and software. The application not only removed the time to train retail staff, but also didn't impact the customer user experience at the stores.

They developed a robust smart interceptor that could use the existing software and hardware to fetch our relevant information from a sales receipt, and report it to the regulator on a real-time basis. We were having proposals from other vendors too, but the removal of staff training and zero impact on the user experience with Txend's solution helped us in making a call.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

It started off with 5 people out of which 3 were Full stack engineers, 1 Software Quality assurance engineer and a Project Manager. We went live in August 2020 and till now we have been very happy with the solution's performance and usage. The Support team has 2 Support Engineers and a Support Manager.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

The retail stores went live on a tight schedule which was governed and tracked by the Federal authorities. There are two retail channels in the country and the team crafted a different strategy for both rollouts.

Initially nationwide owned and operated stores went live and later it was rolled out to the franchise stores. The compliance deadlines were met and heavy penalties were avoided with the support of a highly committed Txend team.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

The team was really proactive through out. During the Covid lockdown, the team performed testing remotely on our networks, also visited our office as needed. We found Txend to be always one step ahead in terms of identifying and solving problems.

They quickly learned our systems and got to work accordingly in the fastest possible timeframe. Txend has been using our internal Incident reporting tools for smooth resolution on Issue in alignment with the SLA and KPIs.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Txend is a real problem solver, they highlighted possible retail scenarios which we could not think of. They delivered before the targeted dates and were always there to support even outside of the office hours. The Project Manager assigned to this scrum team was a Gem, he knew exactly how to priorities areas of risks for us to meet the targets.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

Nothing much, everything is so in order, the support team that is engaged on the SLA even supports outside of working hours, and even on weekends. We would highly recommend the team involved with us.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Point Duty develops innovative Enterprise software products designed to capture “Open Source” information from publicly available sources such as peer to peer networks, social media and anonymous dark web locations and then process the captured information into actionable intel. I am a currently a Business Analyst and have also been involved with the outsourcing operations for 5 years and development for the past 10 years.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Txend, and what were your goals?

We initially hired Txend to redesign our flagship product and later diversified the engagement to other areas of innovation and engineering like UIX, Software Development, Testing, Research on Projects involving Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence. We found people at Txend very professional and had extensive domain knowledge that we could draw on to compliment our own team.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

We met Txend folks via a reference from one of our colleagues, and we tried their services with a small independent project. The project was successfully delivered with minimal involvement from our side. Txend team is good at taking/ formulating requirements and delivering the solution which is independent (microservice), reliable (unit tested), and easily deployable (docker containerized).

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

Team Txend has contributed to our internal development in the following ways:

• Extending development resources as part of our remote teams to work on various new features of the existing fleet of our software
• Redesigning our flagship product giving it a new and better look for more advanced User Experience and usage
• R&D into ML and AI related products in respect of testing new ideas, making Proof of Concepts and testing of various data analytics and reporting tools with the help of our Innovation team
• Scoping out various new feature development on our existing software suite

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

Over the course of our ongoing engagement we have worked with at least 10 people from project management, software development, UI-UX design, and the TXend leadership levels.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

The deliverables were above expectation in the areas of UI-UX and Software Development. The team helped giving our flagship product a new and better user experience, the team brings in wealth of experience in this domain. Of course it was a combined effort between the two teams to accomplish the results and in that regard TXend's development team where great to deal with and have consistently achieved agreed KPIs and have exceeded expectations when it came to engaging in problem solving and independently offering innovative solutions.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

Standard SDLC Project Management has been executed using JIRA and the TXend team fully embraced the approach. The team is always available for adhoc meetings apart from the weekly and daily cadences set within various teams on the various engagements. The key account manager has been available on every call, which was unexpected, to ensure quality and transparency within the teams from day one. We have delivered both Kanban and Scrum based projects with the team and have achieved desired results on time. I would also commend the TXend The team is flexible on using any platform for communication and delivery.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

The development team is now an integral part of Point Duty's everyday process. As mentioned previously they are to be commended on their application and willingness to participate and their contribution to the ongoing development of our products with excellent suggestions and observations that have benefited our products. The teams are talented and regularly make that extra effort to achieve results on time.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

Nothing much, the ongoing experience has been very good so far and we fully expect that this relationship will build into the future and become even stronger.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Lead Developer of MyStudioPro

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Provide a SASS application for photography studios & freelancers to easily manage and conduct their business

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Txend to accomplish?

Build the initial MVP

SOLUTION

How did you find Txend?

Online Search

Why did you select Txend over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget
• Good value for cost

How many teammates from Txend were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

MyStudioPro is one of a kind innovative web application, aiming to streamline photography studios' operations with its comprehensive suite of tools. The company's flagship product, also called MyStudioPro, serves as a versatile CRM and studio management platform. With MyStudioPro, photography studios can easily register as organizations and empower their employees as users to efficiently manage clients and appointments. 

The intuitive interface allows users to create and update client profiles, keeping all relevant information in one place. MyStudioPro offers a core tool feature that enables users to upload and make slight edits to photographs, facilitating the preparation and finalization of orders for the studio's products. This feature streamlines the entire order management process, making it convenient and seamless for both the studio and their clients. I am the Development Lead here in this company.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

We accomplished the engineering of the application within the agreed-upon timeframe, meeting our project objectives. Our active involvement in daily standup meetings ensured that our efforts remained aligned with the project's goals. During the development phase, we went above and beyond by introducing additional features, broadening the project's scope, and significantly enhancing the quality and functionality of the product. 

These new features were carefully integrated to improve the overall user experience and maximize the application's potential. Through continuous innovation and careful consideration, we expanded upon the initial project requirements, resulting in an application that surpassed expectations. The incorporation of new features not only enriched the product but also addressed key user needs and pain points, further solidifying its value.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

The team displayed performance-driven and energetic behavior throughout the entire development phase while consistently displaying punctuality as well. To ensure progress and maintain work quality, the team conducted daily stand-up meetings. Efficient task tracking was facilitated using Slack and Gitlab, allowing the team to monitor the progress and status of assigned tasks. 

Additionally, Txend managed regular daily meetings on MS Teams to provide updates and address concerns. The project manager took special measures to establish effective communication channels and ensure smooth coordination within the team.

What was your primary form of communication with Txend?

Virtual Meeting

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Txend's professionalism is truly outstanding. I was thoroughly impressed with their skillful management of the development process, especially in the face of challenges. Their remarkable ability to navigate and overcome difficulties left a lasting impression on me.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Txend could have done differently?

They demonstrate great enthusiasm, a deep comprehension of our needs, and exceptional availability for communication at all times. We were happy to have found such an outstanding group of individuals.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Avant Garde Technologies B.V. is one of the leading innovative software solutions company in Carribean Islands. The Company's core product is called Chip, which is an e-wallet, peer to peer contact less payment system, founded in 2018 by a team of forward thinkers. I am one of the founders in the company since the start.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Txend, and what were your goals?

We had challenges when making transactions between Curacao and the United States. This is what drove us to research and eventually come up with an idea of an innovative payment solution to make domestic and international transactions more seamless and user friendly. We hired Txend to develop our e-wallet Mobile application serving users cross platform (iOS and Android).

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

We wanted to create a revolutionary instant payment system that enables peer to peer and peer to business payments securely. Txend team offered services in the entire Product development lifecycle.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

We wanted to create a revolutionary instant payment system that enables peer to peer and peer to business payments securely. Txend team offered services in the entire Product development lifecycle. They have a very savvy and experienced team which helped us from idea conceptualization till go-live and growth.

How many resources from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

We had an entire Scrum team working on the re-write project. There were 4-5 React Native developers, 1 QA engineer and a Project manager to drive the project and ensure delivery within the specified timelines.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

The entire re-write of the application was developed within the time frame agreed, we were part of the daily standup meeting ensuring that the efforts are put in the right direction. During the development phase we included some new features in the development which helped us in not only re-writing but enriching the product as well.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

The team was pro-active, and very punctual. The team had a daily standup throughout the development phase and we were allowed to attend any of it. This was so transparent and the progress was measured on a daily basis that we couldn't resist on being part of the DSM everyday. The team was managing their production on JIRA for which we had access to and the communications were taking place on MS teams on a daily basis. The project Manager was easily reachable too.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Txend's level of professionalism is outstanding. I was very impressed by how they managed the development and the difficulties that arose.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

We would not change much. The team is energetic, understands whats required and is available to speak anytime. We are glad that we found these guys.